Chopper Command Atari 2600 Activision C64 Conversion Gameplay Antonio Savona, Steven Day, Saul Cross
8Released in 2019, this conversion of Chopper Command on the Atari 2600 to the Commodore 64 brings back the feeling of playing on the 2600, the wooden beauty from the late 70s.
The original Atari 2600 had painful joysticks which made some of the games unplayable, but what about playing them on a C64. In modern times? Nicer joysticks and neater graphics.
Let's plug in and let rip!
Download Chopper Command for the Commodore 64 from CSDB here: https://csdb.dk/release/?id=180944
MISSION BRIEFING from the readme.txt included in the download:
Chopper Command C64
Coded by Antonio Savona
Gfx by Steven Day
Music by Saul Cross
Sfx by Flemming Martins
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Activision
Chopper Command
Instructions
Your first mission? Don't worry. Everyone gets a little nervous.
Just make sure you carefully read this instruction manual first.
You'll be dealing with some very sophisticated equipment, and an extremely tricky enemy. So, good luck. The guys on the ground are counting on ya!
Activision
Chopper Command Basics
The object of the game is to accumulate as many points as possible by knocking out enemy aircraft, while protecting yourself and your truck convoys at the same time.
Pressing the button will fire cannons. Holding the button down will activate the continuous fire mode.
Pushing the Joystick up will cause your helicopter to ascend, pulling it back will bring it down. Moving the Joystick left or right will cause your helicopter to face to the left or to the right.
Pushing the Joystick to the left or to the right will move your helicopter in that direction.
Special Features of Chopper Command by Activision
1. The Long Range Scanner at the bottom of the screen will enable you to detect both approaching truck convoys (friendly) and enemy aircraft well ahead of time. The truck convoys appear as white "blips" on the very bottom of the scanner while enemy aircraft appear as white "blips" above the convoy. Your helicopter gunship is the black dot. You can calculate that the area represented on the long range scanner is roughly 5 miles, while the area portrayed on the large screen is about 1 mile.
2. There are increasing levels of intensity. Each level will start with a wave of twelve enemy ships and twelve trucks in your convoy. There are ten waves of enemy attackers, with each wave being faster than the one before. Take care! Enemy aircaft fire multi-warhead missiles which will split in two after being launched from their aircraft. These missiles can destroy both your helicopter and the trucks below, and, since you cannot shoot the missiles down, you must dodge them.
3. You have an unlimited supply of ammunition, so go ahead and blanket the sky with your laser cannons.
4. Scoring. Each time you shoot down an enemy helicopter, you earn 100 points. For every enemy jet you shoot down, you will be credited with 200 points. Should you wipe out an entire wave of hostile aircraft, you will receive a bonus calculated by multiplying the number of trucks remaining in the convoy times the wave number achieved (one through ten) times 100.
5. You have helicopter reserves. You start the game with three choppers in your fleet. For every 10,000 points you score, an extra helicopter will be added to your squadron, up to a maximum of six. The number of extra choppers appears under the score.
Getting the Feel of Chopper Command by Activision
Pushing the Joystick up will cause your helicopter to climb; pulling it back will make your craft descend. Right or left movements will guide your gunship's horizontal motion. After flying in one direction, pushing the Joystick in the opposite direction will cause an immediate 180o turn. Notice also that your chopper "drifts" slightly after pivoting 180o (this should be helpful in better timing your shots).
Your chopper can hover close to the ground, but be careful not to collide with your convoy. You'll destroy the helicopter and a truck.
Remember, don't be too aggressive at first. Keep your chopper on the left side of the screen facing right, and size up the situation. This will give you time to better recognize enemy tactics. Then, when you feel more confident, you can seek out the enemy and get them before they get to you or your trucks.
The long range scanner is a very useful tool. However, you'll have to keep your eyes on the larger video screen and the scanner at the same time. Watching one and not the other could be dangerous. Don't forget, the long range scanner is for estimating the positions of enemy aircraft and not for lining up shots. You cannot hit the enemy unless you can see them on the larger screen.
End of MISSION BRIEFING
Music 'KnuckleBusted' by 'Rich Hollins - Tufty'
See his NEW album Raw Spectronica on bandcamp available for download or cassette/vinyl effect CD at: https://tufty1.bandcamp.com/
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